A Slice of Americana

Beautiful red, white, blue quilts are instant American classics.  They are perfect for patriotic holidays, quilts of valor, and Americana decor.  Happy Fourth of July and happy quilting !

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Quilt of Valor Log Cabin by Connie German, quilted by Rachel's Quilting Loft

Most quilters have heard of the Quilts of Valor^® Foundation.  Their mission is to cover Service Members and Veterans touched by war with comforting and healing Quilts of Valor.

Connie German says she really enjoys making Quilts of Valor.  In this log cabin quilt, a combination of fascinating fabrics, including off-white and ivory, enliven the design. The overall quilting design includes stars, echoing the stars in some of the blue batik fabric strips.

Stepping Up by Chris Bredwell, quilted by Quality Quilterz

Chris Bedwell says, "Recently our oldest grandson graduated from high school, and this is his graduation quilt. The quilt includes symbols of his loves: history/patriotism (the colors) and baseball (the quilting)."  The quilting design includes baseball gloves, caps, bats, and balls!

Note: "Stepping Up" was based on Carolyn S. Vagts' "Great Gatsby" quilt pattern. 

Fading Galaxy, made and quilted by Char Gasker

There are more than 136 triangle star blocks in this inspiring quilt! The quilt was designed for the "50 Years of Great Quilts" Special Exhibit for the 2024 Quilt Fiesta in Houston.  

Inspiration for the quilt came from Barbara Cline's book, Amazingly Simple Triangle Stars.  The beautiful piecing and quilting can be seen in the closeup photo, below.

Note:  For FREE patterns for patriotic quilts, check out our Free Pattern Day (CLICK HERE):

Image credits: Photos of quilts on this page were taken by Quilt Inspiration at the 2024 Tucson quilters Guild show.

The end of the Blues

We're wrapping up "The Blues" with a look at the dazzling quilts we've featured over the last two weeks. And, we've come to a few conclusions. First, we love the color Blue, in all its manifestations. Second, we are captivated by bold graphic designs with high contrasts: there is nothing bland about these quilts! Finally, just looking at these quilts makes us feel serene and hopeful... which means that color psychology is for real!

Top row, L-R: Bachelor’s Wedding Ring, by Eric Gunson, at Pieceful Expressions; Kaleidoscope, the 2010 ASIJ Auction Quilt by Julie Fukuda and colleages, as seen at My Quilt Diary; Yuletide Snowflake design, by Joanna Figueroa, at Fig Tree Quilts (the quilt shown was made by Connecting Threads). Row 2: Glowing Splendor, by Barbara Cline, at Delightful Piecing; Teacup, by Maria Elkins, at Maria Elkins Art Quilts; Embroidered Japanese Crests, by Susa Glenn, at Susa Glenn Designs. Row 3: Victorian Gingerbread, by Janice Lee Baehr, at Pacific Rim Quilt Company; Albers at Sea, by Debra Levin, at the Empire Quilters Guild; Delft Storm, by Ionne McCauley, at Ionne Quilts.

Image credits:  Images are shown with the generous permission of the artists.

Seeing Stars

The stars shine brightly in today's brilliant blue quilts by designer, quilter and author, Barbara Cline. Stars appear in nearly all of her quilts, including the lone star designs in her book, Star Struck Quilts. Barbara Cline's starry quilts remind us of a quotation by Mary C. Crowley, who said: "Every evening I turn my worries over to God. He's going to be up all night anyway."

Glowing Splendor, by Barbara H. Cline, at Delightful Piecing

"Glowing Splendor" can be seen in Barbara Cline's online gallery. Here we see a dimensional effect created by gradated blue fabrics that are pieced as hexagons, with 12-pointed stars in the centers. At the intersecting corners of the hexagons there are 3-pointed dimensional stars that look like the blades of a wind turbine.  The inner border of the quilt is formed by whirling pinwheels in five different blue hues, which are set in a tessellating pattern, as in Barbara Cline's Pinwheel Spin pattern.

Diamond Chain, 56 x 56" or 76 x 96", by Barbara Cline, at Delightful Piecing

The gradation of background fabrics from dark blue to white gives this quilt a beautiful dimensional effect.  The blue-black diamond chain running diagonally through the quilt creates an optical illusion, making it look as if the chain is moving!

The pattern for Diamond Chain is available at Delightful Piecing. Although the pattern appears to be complex, Barbara assures us that it is easy to piece when it is broken down into 10" blocks !

Image credits and links:  Images are shown with the generous permission of Barbara Cline.  She is the author of Star Struck Quilts - Dazzling Diamonds & Traditional Blocks, published by C&T Publishing.  Fittingly, the Amazon.com reviewers of "Star Struck Quilts" all gave it five stars !